This invention relates to a vehicle for tending low growing vegetation. It can be utilized for such tasks as harvesting, weeding, spraying, pruning and transplanting. It is ideal for harvesting surface dwelling crops.
There has long been a need for a powered vehicle which would reduce the physical burdens on agricultural workers who must tend low growing crops. Previous attempts to solve the problem have utilized cumbersome motorized vehicles whose only advantage was that they permitted the worker to lie in a prone-position rather than stooping over the crops. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,825,273; 3,033,303; and 3,361,224. While these vehicles may have enhanced worker comfort, they have not been commercially successful.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide a powered vehicle for tending low-growing vegetation which will reduce field worker injury while enhancing the economic viability of field worker techniques.
Another object of this invention is to provide a light weight vehicle of simple construction which will be durable and relatively inexpensive.
Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle capable of adaptation to tending crops of differing heights.
Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle having an adaptable wheel span which permits use in variously spaced seed and crop rows.
Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle having a conveyor belt for transporting the produce from the picking area to a storage bin which may be refrigerated if the produce so requires.
These objectives have been met by this invention which is a powered vehicle comprising: a frame having intersecting cross-braces; a platform mounted to the frame having an engine mounted thereon; front and rear center swing tubes having a torsion bar spring suspension and a double articulated steering system; and four legs, each adjustably mounted within one of the swing tubes, having a motor connected by hydraulic lines to the engine, and supporting a wheel and tire.